science | March 25, 2026

How did Felix Baumgartner survive?

How did Felix Baumgartner survive?

Once he exited his free-fall by deploying his parachute, Baumgartner was able to “steer” himself to a preferred landing spot. A beacon inside his suit meant his recovery helicopter was able to closely follow him.

How many miles did Felix Baumgartner?

Doing so, he set world records for skydiving an estimated 39 km (24 mi), reaching an estimated top speed of 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25. He became the first person to break the sound barrier relative to the surface without vehicular power on his descent.

How did Felix Baumgartner break speed of sound?

The footage was recorded using a video camera pointing skyward as Baumgartner accelerated to a speed of 833.9 mph (1,342.8 km/h) during his jump from the edge of space.

Did Felix Baumgartner hear a sonic boom?

Audio from a video recording captures what is believed to be the sonic boom (heard at 00:25 in the clip above) made by Felix Baumgartner as he broke through the speed of sound barrier. This scientific evidence is backed up by four different groups of observers on the ground that stated they heard the sonic boom.

Who found the sonic boom?

A booming thunder roared across the clear skies of the Mojave Desert on Oct. 14, 1947, as U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager nudged an experimental rocket-powered plane faster than the speed of sound. Though only a handful of people realized it at the time, an aviation record had been set.

Is thunder a sonic boom?

A sonic boom is created when an object travels faster than the speed of sound. The thunder that a storm makes is also a sonic boom caused by lightning forcing air to move faster than the speed of sound.

Is lightning a light?

Lightning is visible as a flash of light because of both incandescence (due to its high temperature it glows blue-white) and luminescence (excitation of nitrogen gas in the atmosphere). The distinctive blue-white color of lightning is caused by light emitted as the electrons drop back to their original energy states.